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In Her Mother’s Shoes

THIS WEEK’S OTHER FEATURED BOOK, “WAY OPENS,” BY PATRICIA WILD, CAN BE FOUND BY SCROLLING DOWN BELOW THIS POST, ALONG WITH THIS MONTH’S “FIRST TUESDAY REPLAY.”

PUBLISHED IN: 2012

THE AUTHOR: Dawn Lajeunesse.

THE EDITOR: I’m a big believer in thorough editing. Writers are too close to their own work to be objective and to see the typos/grammatical issues. My first two books both were edited by Mark Spencer and Terri Valentine.

THE PUBLISHER: Dog Ear Publishing

SUMMARY: Author Meredith Fields’ formerly placid suburban existence is shattering, and she’s not entirely unhappy about it. She feels guilty over placing her mother, Katherine, in a nursing home. Her husband, Keith, wants a divorce. She’s emotionally estranged from her children. And her next book is overdue.

As she sorts through her mother’s house before selling, she finds clues to Katherine’s shadowy past. She begins to understand why her mother related so poorly to her children and is shaken by parallels in her relationships with her own children.

When Meredith finds a journal she kept in her twenties, she is reminded of the love she once felt for Keith, and the extent of her loss settles in. A series of crises forces them to confront their relationship, but will it be enough to put Meredith on the path to mending her shattered family and life?

THE BACK STORY: Like the main character, Meredith, I had an inconsistent relationship with my mother. I knew she’d had a troubled childhood, but I didn’t understand the impact on her until I was middle-aged. Also like Meredith, I had access to boxes of letters that my mother had exchanged with friends and my father during World War Two, and gained considerable insight through those letters and family stories. Once the research was done, the story flowed fairly quickly, given that I was working full time and commuting three hours/day—a little less than a year. Although the story is fiction, there were enough similarities to reality to provide me with both understanding and closure.

WHY THIS TITLE?: Meredith had to walk in her mother’s shoes to see that as her mother’s behavior toward her children was impacted by her own troubled parental relationships, so Meredith was repeating her mother’s behaviors with her own children. That understanding enabled her to heal both herself and her relationships with her son and daughter and opened her to more meaningful emotional connections.

WHY WOULD SOMEONE WANT TO READ IT? I think many people, particularly women, can relate to troubled mother-child relationships. The story points the way to understanding and healing.

REVIEW COMMENTS:

“In Her Mother’s Shoes by Dawn Lajeunesse is a touching, deeply satisfying story about a critical part of a woman’s midlife journey, which includes a journey where she must also face her past…. The story is a snapshot of real life. Women everywhere will appreciate In Her Mother’s Shoes.”

…Writers’ Digest Self-Published Book Awards…Score: 5 out of a possible 5

AUTHOR PROFILE: After years in the health care field, I finally pursued my writing passion. I published my first novel, Autumn Colors, after my fiftieth birthday, followed a few years later by In Her Mother’s Shoes. I’m currently hard at work on my third novel, working title Gram and Me. I live north of Saratoga Springs, NY with my husband, Dennis and Border Terrier, Nala. We can be found frequently paddling our canoe on Adirondack lakes and rivers, biking the roads of northern NYS, cross country skiing, or climbing one of the beautiful mountains surrounding us.

AUTHOR COMMENTS: “My novels come from real life experience—some my own, some from people close to me, and sometimes just from someone or something I’ve observed. The settings are places I know and love. I maintain an active presence on social media, blog periodically (when I have something worthwhile to say!), and keep my website (www.dawnlajeunesse.com) fresh and current.”